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“You believe them?” Fiona asked.
“Hector has no reason to lie.”
“Okay,” said the cue ball, “first off, he’s a scumbag, so that’s plenty of reason to lie. But it don’t matter, ‘cause whatever the simplest explanation is for somethin’, that’s the simplest explanation.”
“I think you mean ‘best explanation,’” I said.
Fiona closed her eyes and shook her head, like she’d been through this a thousand times already. “Don’t.”
“Simplest ain’t always best, but it’s always the simplest. Best ain’t always simplest, and it ain’t always the truth. So until you got the truth, you go with the simplest. Capiche?” Sid barked.
“So what’s the simplest explanation?” I snapped back at him. “That they’re lying?”
“No. That your old buddy Lou’s behind it.”
24
My first impulse was to say No way in hell – but my reasons started to crumble as soon as I looked at them harder.
Deceiving the entire MC and shooting one of our own was inconceivable.
Not for Lou.
It was tantamount to treason.
He’d already committed treason – at least towards me. What was a little bit more?
It was reckless – he’d nearly gotten Benjy killed.
But it hadn’t been himself. To Lou, everybody else was expendable.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I whispered.
“No,” Fiona murmured, then turned to me. “…you think?”
“It’s possible.”
“It’s the simplest explanation,” Sid said.
“But… then why didn’t he kill me?” I asked. “I was right there – if Lou wanted to get rid of me, it would’ve been easy.”
“I don’t know, he’s a scumbag. They’re hard to figure out cuz their brains are so full ‘a shit. Do you look like the guy who got shot?”
“Not even close.”
“Well,” Sid shrugged, “I said it was the simplest explanation, not the best.”
“Jack,” Fiona whispered, like she’d remembered something shocking. She put her hand on my arm almost as a reflex.
Her touch felt good. It stirred something deep inside me, though I never would have admitted it to her.
“What?”
“Right before the robbers came in, I had on that blond wig from one of the strippers… remember? Then I took it off?”
It took a second, but I finally recalled the moment. “Shit, that’s right… I remember telling you when I pulled your hair that night, I didn’t want it coming off.”
Fiona blushed the tiniest bit.
